As they say, “You practice how you play, and you play like you practice.” That was precisely the case with Russell Wilson of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024, according to Brooke Pryor of ESPN.
In an interview with presenter Dave Dameshek and co-guest Tim Benz on The Shek Show podcast, Pryor said that Wilson wasn’t practicing properly near the conclusion of the 2024 season when he wasn’t performing well.
“I simply recall watching Russ during the final practices at Acrisure Stadium prior to the playoff game and thinking, ‘This is not good.'” He didn’t appear well,” Pryor said. He was committing errors. He was hurling picks. Based on what I was witnessing in practice, I believed the defense would mount a stronger defense.
“During that five-game losing streak at one point during the season, I thought Russ kind of went over a cliff.”
No matter how much optimism Wilson attempted to convey, Pryor continued, his play had clearly altered.
In his first seven starts with the Steelers, Wilson won six of them. However, as a starter, he ended the season 6-6, including the playoffs.
The Decline of Russell Wilson at the End of the 2024 NFL Season
The Steelers’ season-ending five-game losing skid was caused by a number of causes. Over the course of eleven days, they played three games, including two against the teams that would go on to win the Super Bowl.
A away game against the Baltimore Ravens was tucked in between.
However, the schedule cannot be the Steelers’ sole justification. After ten days off, they didn’t perform much better offensively against the Cincinnati Bengals at home.
One of the main causes of the decline in offensive output was Wilson. He had 12 touchdowns, only three interceptions, and an average of 8.4 yards per pass in his first seven appearances.
Wilson averaged 6.4 yards per attempt over the five-game losing run, including after the postseason, when he inflated his stats in a lopsided second half.
His completion rate also declined.
George Pickens, a wide receiver, had a hamstring injury that kept him out of three games. Additionally, in three of their last five games, the Steelers were unable to run for 80 yards.
At the end of the season, the defense produced fewer turnovers than it did in the first three months, which gave the offense more opportunities to score.
However, it’s still plausible that the Steelers offense would have struggled to finish 2024 if those things hadn’t occurred. Wilson didn’t perform well during that span, even in controlled settings like practice, Pryor said.
Will Wilson be re-signed by the Steelers?
Wilson’s future is unlikely to be significantly impacted by Pryor’s update. However, it can alter the signal caller’s story.
Already, experts were debating if the Steelers ought to try to re-sign Wilson. Steelers Nation is even more inclined to support the team’s pursuit of alternative quarterback alternatives in light of Pryor’s evaluation of his practices towards the end of the season.
On January 27, team owner Art Rooney II stated to the media that he would rather see Wilson or Justin Fields return. This offseason, both are free agents without restrictions.
Fields received praise from head coach Mike Tomlin on January 14 during his season-ending news conference. In addition, Tomlin underlined the benefits that mobile quarterbacks provide NFL teams and underlined that age will play a role.
That suggests that the Steelers will sign Fields, who is ten years younger than Wilson, instead of Wilson. Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has stated on several occasions this summer that the club will do just that.
Pundits have connected Wilson to the Las Vegas Raiders and former head coach Pete Carroll in the event that he leaves in free agency.
However, it appears like Pryor has put any NFL team that could be interested in Wilson on notice. His next NFL circumstance may need to be ideal for him to succeed if he really “fell off a cliff” even during practice.
